JACKSONVILLE - With a late hook coming near 11:30 a.m. as the noon docking deadline loomed at the Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament Media Day mini-tournament, Clay Today Sports Editor Randy Lefko hauled in his third kingfish of the day; and his biggest at 22 pounds, to finish fourth at the annual pre-Kingfish event staged at Jim King Park and Boat Ramp in northern Jacksonville.

“It was a fourth-quarter touchdown pass for our boat, the Cherokee Rose, captained by Lyle Rose out of Hillard,” said Lefko, who caught the first of his three just two minutes from Rose dropping bait just off the Jacksonville Beach shoreline after the 8 a.m. sendoff.

“We were optimistic that the day would go great with the quick hook and our crew; me and the father/son duo of Kevin and Ryan Lapthorn, all had some good battles for the tournament.”

Lefko had the added element of a hungry shark chasing his 22-pounder.

“Lyle was going crazy trying to coach me to stay ahead of the shark as he kept the kingfish, now in a frenzied flee attempt, but we finally got him close enough to the boat that he could snag him before the shark got him,” said Lefko. “It got crazy going from side to side on the boat trying to not let the shark get the fish or the fish snap the line.

Rose, with multiple-time Kingfish Junior Angler champion son Brody, 9, at his side and assisting the on-board crew, was on target with his advice and placement of boat and hook. The Rose duo finished second overall at last year’s Kingfish Aggregate total with a 65.28-pound total.

“When we got a good net full of Pogie bait on the first toss, that is usually a good sign,” said Rose. “The captains of the Media Tournament have a goal to get as many bites as possible to give our guests an experience on the water and also have some fun working the Kingfish to the boat. They all did well this whole morning.”

Kevin Lapthorn, who runs a Jacksonville Academy Sports retail store, and son, Ryan, a college mechanical engineer student in south Florida, were both first-timers on the ocean fishing scene and both pulled in a Kingfish each. Ryan Lapthorn even hooked a small shark.

Lefko’s 22-pound snag was fourth behind catches of 36, 27 and 25 pounds. Lefko’s first and second snags were about 14 and 16 pounds.